Life Issues Forum: Some Good News in the Battle Against Assisted Suicide

Greg Schleppenbach

September 22, 2017

The
movement to legalize doctor-assisted suicide has been gaining momentum in
recent years. Since 2015, two states
(California and Colorado) and the District of Columbia have joined Oregon,
Washington State and Vermont in legalizing the deadly practice. And 28 states
had assisted suicide bills introduced in 2017 with a handful coming very close
to succeeding. Compassion & Choices, the leading assisted suicide
proponent, has a well-organized and well-funded agenda that has been very
effective in leading these efforts.

So,
where's the good news you may be asking?

Let's
start with those 28 states that had bills introduced to legalize assisted
suicide. With almost all of these states' legislatures having finished their
work for 2017, not a single bill has succeeded so far. This success is largely
due to the extraordinary work of broad based and bi-partisan coalitions that include
disability-rights, medical, elder, minority, faith-based and pro-life groups.

What's
more, the only assisted-suicide-related legislation to succeed this year either
prohibits or limits the practice. Alabama, for example, enacted a ban on the
practice. Arizona enacted conscience protections for medical professionals
(should the practice ever be legalized there).

There
has also been good news from the judicial branch of government. In the last couple of years, court challenges
to assisted suicide bans in Tennessee, New Mexico, Minnesota, Hawaii and, most
recently, New York have all failed. New York's highest court, in a unanimous
ruling, affirmed lower court decisions concluding that there is no
constitutional right to assisted suicide.

The
next source of good news comes from the medical profession with the recent and
very significant action by the American College of Physicians to reaffirm its
opposition to doctor-assisted suicide. Following a nearly two-year, multi-level
review of its policy against assisted suicide, the ACP concluded that although
there are arguments on both sides, "the ethical arguments against legalizing
physician-assisted suicide remain most compelling." Continuing, they say:

"[Physician-assisted
suicide] is problematic given the nature of the patient–physician relationship,
affects trust in the relationship and in the profession, and fundamentally
alters the medical profession's role in society. Furthermore, the principles at
stake in this debate also underlie medicine's responsibilities regarding other
issues and the physician's duties to provide care based on clinical judgment,
evidence, and ethics. Society's focus at the end of life should be on efforts
to address suffering and the needs of patients and families, including
improving access to effective hospice and palliative care. The ACP remains
committed to improving care for patients throughout and at the end of life."

In addition to the ACP, there are at least fourteen other
medical organizations that oppose legalizing assisted suicide. The biggest
among them, the American Medical Association, is currently reviewing its policy
against assisted suicide and needs to hear from its members that the policy
should be retained. AMA members will have an opportunity to weigh in at the
group's November House of Delegates meeting in Hawaii.

Opposition
to assisted suicide by medical groups plays a significant role in defeating
legislation to legalize the practice. Compassion & Choices knows this well,
which is why they are working very hard to infiltrate and influence medical
groups to, at least, take a neutral stance. We must see to it that they fail in
this effort through prayer, advocacy and speaking out for the protection of
those whose lives are at risk.

Greg Schleppenbach is Associate Director for the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. To read the U.S. bishops' 2011 policy statement on assisted suicide and related resources, visit: www.usccb.org/toliveeachday.

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